Illustration of animal families enjoying lemonade in the park in summer

44 things to do with your little ones this summer

There is so much to do and explore during the summer! Together with the Collaboration for Early Childhood, we’ve put together a collection of activities and free, fun, local community events happening all summer long—especially for families with young children.

Take advantage of this beautiful season and drink in the sunshine and long days with your little ones!

Activities

  1. Sign up for this year’s summer reading program: Level Up at Your Library! Kids ages 2 through rising 6th graders can keep track of books they have read and those read to them to earn prizes. Activity sheets with fun early learning activities for babies and toddlers are available for pickup at any library location.
Illustration of adult reading with a child outdoors as more children play in the background. The sun is shining, flowers are in bloom, and the scene is happy and bright.
  1. The Collaboration for Early Childhood invites you to share your hopes, needs, and concerns. Your feedback will help inform their family engagement work, enabling them to be the best advocates possible for you and other families raising young children in Oak Park! Take and share the 10-minute Family Survey. 
  2. Call the library’s Dial-a-Story service at 708.816.2800 to listen to new books every month–and make sure to log your reading for summer reading, too! Everyone can read with their eyes, ears, or even their fingers!
  3. Explore this year’s updated recommended reads for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers (plus titles for kindergarteners through rising sixth graders, too) and lists that focus on genres and identities. Plus, watch videos with more great books to read in June for Pride and July for Disability Pride!
  4. Have you ever played “Book Bingo”? Play Pride Book Bingo throughout the month at the Oak Park Public Library and neighboring community libraries, too!  
  5. You’re child’s ready for kindergarten, but are they registered? Do you have a future kindergartener in your family that is planning on starting kindergarten at a District 97 school this fall? Make sure to get started on registering them! This helps schools plan for class sizes and make staffing preparations. Hint: The Children’s Clinic provides back-to-school physical and dental exams, too! 
  6. Use your Oak Park library card to check out passes to area museums and attractions, including Brookfield Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry! The Museum Adventure Pass offers local suburban options, and Explore More Illinois has locations from all over Chicago and Illinois, plus a few in Iowa and Wisconsin.
You're So Amazing book cover
  1. Celebrate Disability Pride Month this July with programs for kids, families, teens, and adults, including a Storywalk of You’re So Amazing! by James and Lucy Catchpole on the windows inside and outside the Main Library Children’s Services Area. Curious about how to talk about disabilities with kids? Miss Shelley has suggestions of words to use in this short video. The Collaboration for Early Childhood will have its Disability Pride window display up during the month of July, so stop by 171 S. Oak Park Ave. to check it out!
  2. Miss Shelley and Miss Jenny have a lot of fun ideas for songs, science, and activities perfect for the summer months! Plus, here’s a super-easy way to make ice cream in a baggie.
  3. Is a changing routine or warmer, sweatier weather hard for your child? Here is a video with ten co-regulating techniques you can use during hard times, and before the hard times happen. 
  4. Early learning and storytime classes at the library are based on the Very Ready Reading program. Explore this tutorial with tips, activities, and videos to bring early learning fun into your home! 
  5. Watch Shelley’s Guide to Reading Readiness and Early Literacy presentation on YouTube (75 minutes) for advice and recommendations on how to get your child ready for kindergarten learning. (Spoiler alert: You’re already doing it!)
  6. You know you can check out books, but did you know we also have activity kits and early learning kits? Check out our kits and learn through play!
  7. The Main Library Children’s Services area hosts scavenger hunts every month. Visit us to see what we’re searching for, and earn a sticker, too.
  8. Explore the Collaboration for Early Childhood’s free garden curriculum: Growing Gardeners Lessons!
Two Garden Growers booklet covers featuring illustrated animals
  1. Make walks fun by picking a shape, color, or item, and high-fiving when you find something that matches, like Miss Nora’s yellow scavenger hunt video or Miss Shelley’s mindful literacy walk video.
  2. What do you wish there will always be? Watch this community video book created by Jim Gill and children and families, and then draw your own picture.
  3. Park District of Oak Park programming is within reach! Did you know that the Park District of Oak Park offers financial assistance opportunities in the form of scholarships and child care discounts? Learn about the financial assistance program »
  4. Use sidewalk chalk and leave a message or drawing for your neighbors.
  5. Check out the library’s shelf of new books and borrow a book about someone who looks or lives differently than you.

Storytimes

  1. This summer, attend Storytimes in the Park throughout Oak Park.
  2. Supported Storytime & Family Play, for kids with disabilities ages 3-11, is now on Tuesdays at 1:30 pm.
  3. Spanish Storytime With Kathy is back on Fridays at 10 am.
  4. On June 23, join staff from Wochenendschule der Donauschwaben for an interactive German Language storytime—best for ages 3 and older.
  5. Head over to the Oak Park Conservatory for a storytime on Wednesdays at 10 am (the first Wednesday of each month is a Bilingual Spanish Storytime). Classes are free, but require registration.
  6. August 22 is for Dino-lovers! Get ready to explore your favorite dinosaurs at the Dino Days Storytime and Craft.

Places

  1. Planning your first visit to the Main Library? Share this social narrative as a family and get tips for successful visits.
  2. All summer long: The book bike will be all over Oak Park, including some storytimes.
Two library staff stand next to two library book bikes and give each other a high five
  1. Visit the Community Sensory Garden at Maze Branch. Harvest herbs if there are any ready! 
  2. Get out your picnic blanket and watch a family-friendly movie or community concert under the stars in Scoville Park this summer.
  3. Honor Juneteenth and explore local history with the Collaboration for Early Childhood’s Black History Bingo!  

Events

  1. June 24: It’s time to kick off Supported Gardening season, when kids with disabilities meet at the Maze Branch Community Sensory Garden for stories, tending the garden, and making a snack with what we harvest. Join us monthly through September. 
  2. June 26: Meet new friends at our Monthly Supported Stories & Play, where families who have kids with disabilities can explore play stations with the support of a local therapist. Each month, we will welcome someone from Perennial SLP, Dynamic Lynks, Kids Unlimited, or CAYR Connections.
  3. June 27: Our littlest friends can celebrate Pride at our Baby/Toddler Rainbow Exploration, where we’ll read Our Rainbow and talk about the colors in the Pride flag while we explore nature.
  4. June 28: Make a birdhouse with the Collaboration for Early Childhood at the Oak Park Farmers Market!
  5. July 4: Celebrate Independence Day at the Village of Oak Park’s Fourth of July Parade followed by the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday street fest.
  6. July 12: Join our third annual Disability Pride March! We kick off at 11 am, but supplies to make a march sign and ribbon wand are available between 9 and 11 am. Everyone is welcome, disabled people and allies alike!
Patrons in the library hold signs they made for Disability Pride Month
  1. July 19: Head to Scoville Park from 10 am to 12 pm to craft your own bull accessories and race around the park during the Running of the Bulls Kids Race in honor of Ernest Hemingway’s Birthday. Plus, check out many more family-friendly birthday activities too!
  2. July 19: Is your child ready for potty training? This potty training parent/caregiver workshop will help you approach the process with confidence. 
  3. August 16: Join the Collaboration for Early Childhood for a fun and welcoming networking and play event where families—especially those new to the area—can connect and play together. Best for families with children ages 0-5! 
  4. Every Saturday: Visit the Oak Park Farmers’ Market (see the book bike there on July 5).
  5. Thursdays through August: Discovery Garden Exploration Time at the Oak Park Conservatory! Learn about native Illinois ecosystems and have fun playing in the garden every Thursday from 9 am to 12 pm in June, July, and August, weather permitting. Registration is required.
  6. Every Thursday: Stop by Thursday Night Out for fun and community—and to visit the book bike! On July 10, don’t miss the special “Kid’s Night” edition with activities and giveaways from local family-friendly organizations, including the Collaboration for Early Childhood!
  7. Throughout the summer: Toddlin’ Around Town is a family-friendly way to play and explore different areas of Oak Park! Spot Cece the pig with wings in Chicago Avenue East, Downtown Oak Park, and Southtown.
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